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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ainamacar" data-source="post: 5030102" data-attributes="member: 70709">I like the fungi/mad wizard combination, and offer that adding a twist on the mirror of opposition could be fun.  For example, suppose the wizard has found/constructed a mirror that goes to another realm if the user has eaten the fungi.  Unfortunately, his collection of the fungi is rapidly diminishing and the only source he knows of is in this twisted mirror realm.  Creatures passing through the mirror are replaced by aberrant versions of themselves (illithid come to mind).  The wizard has tried to obtain the fungus himself, but very nearly died fighting his aberrant self when he returned to the normal realm.  Thus, he would prefer to get lower-level lackeys to go through so he can handle the fight.  Naturally, such knowledge is not given to the PCs.  They are merely hired to go through a portal of sorts (while mildly high!), obtain the fungi, and return to the wizard.  A couple fights in the mirror realm would be a good start.  On return to their original realm, however, the wizard is dead ("Cursed by his own hubris") with a nice hole in the head.   If this can be seen through the mirror before passing through, so much the better.  When the PCs return, they are attacked by illithid versions of themselves, and must fight to the death.  Finally, since this has something to do with a twisted incursion into the normal realm, the normal and aberrant version of each creature share a single soul.  If the illithid version of a PC dies, life goes on as normal, but if the normal version dies it "wakes up" in the skin of the illithid it was just fighting, hopelessly compelled to continue the fight, while perhaps weakly trying to stop (things like "Wait guys, it's really me!" in the middle of combat could be kinda freaky)  Some hints of this could also be given during combat, such as a PC feeling a vague pain when his counterpart is wounded, etc.  And, heck, if the PC has its brain eaten by its counterpart, I think that's pretty awesome: He wakes up in the mind of the creature that is still chewing on what was, just moments ago, his own brain.  Revulsion++.At the end most of the party is probably dead (in either version of themselves) while a few remain.  If it's the normal characters, some level of madness might ensue.  If it's the twisted versions, suddenly you have creatures that have no idea how to deal with their new nature.  They know what happened at some level, and probably have self-loathing, and a solid touch of madness anyway.  Either way, the primary party can run into the survivors later, and get some hint as to what has happened.  In that sense, as long as someone survives, you have a good hook no matter who wins the showdown.</blockquote>

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